Featured Case Summaries

The following are just a sample of the numerous successful jury trials I have handled.

People v Jimmy Johnson – Defendant Johnson approached producer Dr Dre during the VIBE Awards as Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg were honoring Dr Dre with a lifetime achievement award and punched him numerous times in the face. Johnson claimed that Suge Knight had paid him to carry out this act.

People v Rafael Martirosyan – Attempted murder of a patron at Habibi Café in Westood on Christmas Eve. Defendant claimed he was aiming at music producer Suge Knight.

People v Nicholas Sena – Gang execution murder by the only white member of the Venice Shoreline Crips, Nick Sena aka “Nuttcase”. Sena’s friend Deante Cheatham was murdered by the rival Santa Monica 13 gang. A few days before Sena committed this murder, he wrote on a wall in Venice: R.I.P. Deon – SM13 187 – Nuttcase.

This was translated for the jury to mean that a member of the rival SM13 (Santa Monica 13) gang was going to be killed (Penal Code 187 is the statute for murder in California) by “Nuttcase” to avenge the death of “Deon”. Sena saw a Latino male he took to be a member of Santa Monica 13 and shot him several times at close range in broad daylight on Lincoln Blvd. One of the bullets hit a bystander who lost her spleen.

People v United States Letele – Murder by Sons of Samoa (SOS) gangster who shot the victim in the back from close range. He later fled to Las Vegas.

People v Jurray Casey – Murder committed by Long Beach Polytechnic High School star linebacker Jurray Casey. The victim was a crump dancer he mistakenly believed to be a rival blood gangmember. Defendant’s gang was the Long Beach Insane Gangster Crips, the same gang affiliated with rapper Snoop Dogg. Defendant Casey was being recruited by the University of Oregon football team.

People v Saeed Baidi – Attempted murder of an off duty Culver City police officer defendant believed to be a rival gangster. Defendant was a shot caller in the Venice Shoreline Crip Gang known as “Dirty Rocc” (Crips do not place the letter “C” next to a “K” because that stands for “Crip Killer” which is a reference to the rival Blood Gang). Baidi used a very large 50 calibre Israeli made Desert Eagle handgun.

People v Bryan Holloway – One witness murder of a fellow gangster during a drug dispute in Compton.

People v Paul Pointer – Murder of a female teen runaway who was shot in the back twice in Compton for disrespecting the defendant who was her boyfriend. The case went cold for six years until one eyewitness decided to come forward and testify about what he saw.

People v John Maestaz – Homicide committed by Original Gangster member of the Mexican Mafia affiliated Dog Patch 13 gang of Paramount. Defendant’s cousin was believed to be a snitch and marked for execution by the Mexican Mafia. Maestaz killed the victim he believed was out to carry out the hit.

People v Oscar Blanco – Murder of an elderly man walking to church committed in broad daylight with only one witness who saw a scuffle between the two but never saw the shooting. Motive remains unclear but was thought to be robbery.

People v Cory Rushing – Murder of an elderly man by members of one of Compton’s oldest gangs, the Fudgetown Mafia, during their “hood day”, the day they celebrate the creation of their gang. The defendants believed the man disrespected them on their hood day when he simply asked if they could clear the street so he could move his car. He was dragged out of his car, his head was pounded violently on the asphalt and he was beaten to death.

People v Finister & Harris – Home invasion robbery execution gang murder. The victims were in their house playing video games when the defendants entered with guns and asked for money. Even though they took all the money in the house, they ordered both victims on their knees, executed one with a shot to the skull and shot another in the leg as he escaped.

People v Roberto Morales – Murder committed by the Mexican Mafia affiliated Inglewood 13 gang. Motive remains unclear. Defendant walked up to the victim, drew a revolver, pointed it at his head and shot. This case was largely based on circumstantial evidence until “Woody”, another member of Inglewood 13 named due to his similarity to the same character from the movie “Toy Story” saw the murder and decided to come forward weeks before trial to testify against his fellow gang member.

MEDIA & CELEBRITY CASES

The following is a short list of the numerous high profile celebrity related cases I have handled in the past 14 years. Many of these cases have received national and international press coverage.